Picking Up The Pieces
by Blood For Blood
Summary: Sequel to Bonds Of A Protector. Gamma wakes up, and he has a long journey ahead of him to find his missing family, after the island was torn apart by war.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up laying on the ground. I had no idea what I was doing, or who I am even. I got up, and looked around. The area looked familiar. I was in some kind of lifeboat. I looked at my hand, and it was encased it metal. I found a mirror, and looked at myself. I was wearing some kind of suit, and it looked kinda prime evil. It was covered it spikes, and had a large eye in the front of the helmet. It kind of reminded me of Samurai armor, but it looked like it was covered in advanced technology. I examined the area, and looked outside. I saw dead men, they had suits like mine, but again mine looked prime evil. More, intimidating. I searched the floors, and found a dead man. He had a shot gun next to him. I examined it closely, it was a combat shotgun. No shot diverter, no stock, just a plain combat shotgun. I picked it up, and searched the body. I found a bandolier belt on him, fully loaded. I strapped it on, and loaded the shotgun. I exited the boat, and kept moving. I was on an island, and it looked like it was burning.

After walking without signs of life for half an hour, I finally met a group of people. They were all wearing red and black combat armor.

"Hey! Over here!" I yelled with glee. Instead of approaching me, they shot me.

Two shots in my leg, but I never felt them. I took cover, and blind fired a shot. I heard someone scream, and I looked over. One of them was dead. Two left. I got up, and ran at them. Is hot one, and the other smacked my gun out of my hands. I pulled his away from him, and pulled a knife from his leg. It was sheathed in a very accessible place. I jammed the knife in his stomach, and pulled it out. I put it in my belt, knowing I'd need it later. I picked up my shotgun, and it felt so familiar. I don't know why. I kept walking, and after a while I found more people. They never shot at me though.

"Are you a resident of this island?" one of them asked.

"I don't know, I just woke up. Who are you people?" I knew who they were. They were from the U.S. army.

"We are from the U.S. army. Who are you?" when he said that, I remembered a lot of stuff. Things about Rapture, splicers, and who I have to find.

"I come from an underwater Utopia called Rapture."

"You're from there? Tell us everything you know."

"I can help you if you can help me. We can work out a deal. Tell me, what year is it?"

"1975. Why?"

"Oh crap, I've been dead for five years…"

"What?"

"Yeah, it's a long story. Now, we need to get off this island. Now."

"Alright, our boat is this way. Come on."

I told them my entire story, and the actually believed me. Then they told me they were the U.S. Special Operations unit. And that they were sent to investigate disappearing boats and vessels. We discussed a deal, and now I'm on a boat with two highly trained killers. We sat on the boat for hours before we reached the main land. We landed on the beach, and an entire battalion was waiting for us. A man who looked like the general approached us.

"I'm taking the armored one is the Rapturian?" he asked in a stern tone.

"Sir yes sir. He said he has a deal to discuss with us." Paul replied. Paul was the one who did most of the talking. He told me Wreav's story instead of Wreav telling it.

"Sir, he says it's very important to him." Wreav interrupted.

"Alright, what is it?" the general asked.

"I had a family back on that island, and now I have no idea where they are. I'll tell you everything I can about Rapture if you help me locate and track them." I replied.

"Well, that can be arranged. We have had a few incidents where people reported splicers attacking them. Yes, we know what a splicer is. And you can help us with that while our Intel section tracks your family."

"Thank you sir. I'll do my best to help, but when I get any information on my family, I'm going after it."

"Well, we can't stop you. But, you three are a team now; you go everywhere and anywhere together. Do you understand that?"

"Sir yes sir." We all replied.

"Dismissed."

Wreav and Paul led me to where the Intel section worked. I told them everything I knew, and they began tracking my family. Then, the three of us had to go look into splicer sightings.

"So ma'am, you say his face was covered in odd growths, and he kept telling you to give him ADAM?" Paul asked a little old lady.

"Yes. Can I see the sketch?" she asked.

"Here" She looked at it for a second, and I did too.

"Yes, that looks exactly like him."

"Thank you ma'am, you coming to us can help us get rid of these menaces."

"Paul, that thing is ugly." Wreav complained.

"Hey, at least you haven't seen a living one. It was a spider splicer, ugliest of the ugly."

"So, was that all of the witnesses?" Paul asked.

"No… I'm about to witness your death…" we turned to see a lone spider splicer.

"Oh, you are going to die a slow… painful death splicer." He stepped back, and I drew my shotgun in half a second. I blew his knees out.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" he tried to crawl away, but I stepped on his leg. I put the barrel to his head.

"Who sent you here?"

"Lamb. She said she wants to see Eleanor. Don't kill me! Please!"

"Well, we have a source. Now, your gonna go with our teams to be studied, like a rat."

"Just don't kill me. Please, I'm too young to die." The Hazmat team dragged him away, and cleansed the area. The three of us went to our government provided housing. They have these in almost every city on the continent. All you need is a pass card and you have free food, and housing.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up, and pulled on my armor. Paul and Wreav were already awake and eating breakfast.

"Morning sunshine." Paul said.

"Moring, thank you very much." I replied.

I sat down, and got a buzz on my pager. I read it aloud. "We have a lead. Come here ASAP."

"Oh crap. Come on, now Damnit!" I ran out the door.

Paul and Wreav followed behind me. I ran out the door of the housing unit, and down the street. My shotgun was strapped to my back.

After ten minutes of running, we made it to the Intel section. I scanned my ID card, and the door opened. I ran up to Dexter, who was my main link.

"Dexter, what's the lead?" I asked.

"Well, in Chicago, they have been registered there. That's it though. Oddly enough, Splicer activity there is five times more than normal. Your gonna go check it out, and find your family along the way."

"Alright. Paul, Wreav, we're going to take a little trip."

"Alright, where we going?" Wreav asked.

"Chicago. Now suit up, we're moving out now."

We grabbed all our gear, and headed out for the train station. We get special access, because we are high ranking military personnel. We boarded, and prepared for the two day long ride to Chicago.

The ride wasn't that bad. We got our own cabin, and free meals. But it was boring. I spent the majority checking, re-checking, and cleaning my gear. I disassembled and scrubbed my shotgun five times the entire trip. I got so bored; I began to wonder what Chicago will be like. That doesn't sound so bad, but right now I didn't give a crap about Chicago right now. I was here for my family, and that's it. I kill a few Splicers to help the city, and I'm rejoined with the only people I knew. Everyone wins, right? Then, I began to wonder what my family will be like; after all, it's been five years. I hope they still remember me.

I hope they still want me to be alive… maybe they all think I died, and won't believe I'm alive. Maybe they'll just shut me out, as if I were some kind of ghost. No, they wouldn't do that. They're my family; they'd never leave me out in the rain like a lost puppy. Would they? Enough of this crazy talk, they wouldn't do that.

"Hey Paul?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"You've ever been to Chicago?"

"Yeah, but it has changed since I was last there."

"Hey, look. Wreavs asleep."

"So?"

"I don't know. I can't sleep. I'm anxious."

"For what?"

"If there's even the slightest chance of me finding my family, I'm taking it. I'm just not sure if they're gonna be there."

"Calm down, we got our work cut out for us. We might have to do some interrogations."

"So, you say it like it's a bad thing."

"True. But still, I don't want to get any Splicer blood on me. I have no idea what ADAM might do to me."

"I'm pretty sure that it won't do anything."

"I'm still just a bit shaken from the Splicer who popped up out of nowhere. He was an ugly bastard."

"Yeah, they're all ugly."

I finally fell asleep, after about 2 am.

I woke up, and ate breakfast. I spent the rest of the day searching things about the Splicer sightings on a laptop. I found some interesting things. Most of the Splicers have been asking for Eleanor, and then attack anyone who doesn't answer. Which is everyone. They usually only give them bruises and cuts though. And that most Splicers haven't asked for ADAM, only in a few isolated cases. Apparently, most of the Splicers have retained their devotion towards Lamb. It's a huge surprise actually, considering she failed keeping Eleanor in that hell. Thank god she did fail; otherwise I wouldn't be alive right now.

The train was dead silent, not a sound besides the train itself. No one spoke up here in the cabins. Wreav was still asleep, and so was Paul. I checked the time, and it was midnight. We stop in Chicago around 5 pm.

"I'm coming, Samantha, Alexis. Daddies coming…" I muttered to myself.

I began to wonder what happened to Eleanor after I went into a coma. I wonder if she's forgotten about… I kinda hoped she did. Then again, I kinda hoped she didn't. Ugh, what am I thinking about? This is my niece I'm talking about. Jesus, I make myself sick. I just hope she's happy to see me. I'm gonna be happy to hold her. I'm gonna be happy to hold Samantha. I'm gonna be happy to hold Alexis. I'm gonna thank Delta for watching my girls, and then, I'm gonna rip a Splicers FUCKING head off. And I'm gonna stick it on a pole, and decorate the city with hundreds of them.

Ah, man I miss them all. I can't wait to torture the Splicers. I'm gonna enjoy it too much than I should. Way more than I should. But I've got plenty of interrogation moves planned out. I was pretty obsessed with vengeance at the moment. Think about it, if you had the chance to torture the people who made your life miserable, wouldn't you? I sure as hell would, and did.

I didn't sleep that night. No, I stayed up until 5 pm that day. And I still had plenty of energy.

"Gamma, did you sleep last night?" Wreav asked.

"No."

"Why not?" Paul asked.

"I'm too anxious. I can't help it. Think about it, if you hadn't seen your family in years, wouldn't you be restless if you had the slightest chance to?"

"I guess so."

"Attention passengers, we are now pulling into Chicago."


	3. Chapter 3

"Attention passengers, we are now pulling into Chicago."

The train came to a slow halt, and the doors opened. We all got up, and walked out of the train. We looked around for our Intel agent. After ten minutes of searching, we turned up with nothing. A few gunshots were heard, and people panicked. A group of Splicers appeared out of the panicking hordes, and approached me.

"You… you know where she is. Tell us, or these people all die!" the leader demanded.

"Paul, Wreav, clear out the civvies. I got these scum." I loaded my shotgun, and killed a Splicer before the others could retaliate.

Paul and Wreav ran off to help the civilians, and I fought the Splicers. One of ran at me, and I shoved him away. I blew out his knees, and finished the job. I launched a single shell at a Splicer, and it hit one of his buddies directly behind him as well. Only two left. One of them fired at me with a pistol. I didn't feel a tickle. I unloaded a single shell into his stomach, and he fell. The last Splicer was of course, a Houdini. He disappeared, and reappeared behind me. I turned around, only to see him disappear again. This time, I located him before he reappeared, and shot him once he did.

I looked around, and there were even more Splicers surrounding me. All of them clenching pipes and wrenches. I chuckled, and pulled a canister from my belt. I pulled the pin on the tear gas grenade, and hurled it at the floor. Luckily, it can't get into my helmet. So, I sat and watched as the Splicers were slowly brought to the ground, coughing and crying. But then, I saw something. Splicers… were wearing gasmasks. Yeah, gasmasks. They slowly marched towards me, and I began to pelt them with shotgun fire. I killed three of the five while they slowly walked through the gas, but I had to reload. I almost finished when my shotgun was swatted out of my hands. I was brought to the ground, and my helmet was removed. I started to cough, and choke. I couldn't see a thing. I felt them kick and stomp me. I knew it was a matter of time before they moved to my head, and killed me.

I had to get up. It took all my strength, considering I couldn't breathe. I got to my knees, despite being stomped and kicked. I grabbed a Splicer, and brought him to the ground. I tore his mask off, and put it on myself. I got my sight back, and my breathing returned to normal. I scattered from the group who was beating me, and picked up a pistol. I checked it, and it was loaded. I fired off the revolver, and killed everyone who was standing. I got up, and found my helmet. The porthole was broken, and useless. I kicked the shell of my old helmet, and continued walking. The gasmask would be my new helmet. I scrapped up my shotgun, and kept moving.

I found myself staring down another group of Splicers. All of them wearing combat armor. I drew my loaded shotgun, and fired at them. I wiped the group out, but even more came pouring out of the halls. I was surrounded, and had to face my attackers.

"YOU CAN'T BREAK ME! NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY! You can take my virtue, you can take my pride, but you can't take the anger building up inside!" I cried as I open fired on the army of Splicers.

They rushed me, and quickly brought me to the ground. They never even bothered with the mask, they just stomped me. I passed out after a while.

I woke up, with the Splicers fleeing.

"RUN! THEY'RE BACK!" I heard them cry as they ran.

A few figures appeared over me. They looked familiar, but I had no clue who they were. They dragged me to a bench, and I blacked out again.

I woke up, and I could move this time. I got up slowly, and picked up my shotgun. I silently loaded it, and chambered the shell. I looked around, and no one was near me. the area was painted with blood, and gore. The bodies of Splicers littered the floor. I began to walk, but was stopped by a familiar smell.

I sniffed the air. "Good god… pheromones…" I turned around, to see a shadow run out of sight. I chased after it, and rounded the corner.

I kept running, in hope of finding a single friendly face. I wondered what happened to Paul, and Wreav. But I had to find out why pheromones were up here. I ran as fast as I could, until the figure stopped. it was a feminine figure, with a rounded helmet on. I recognized this shape. It was a Big Sister… she turned around, and stared at me, in a defensive position.

She began to hiss at me, and then let out a screech. "SHREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

I clenched my ears, and fell to my knees. I couldn't control it, but I let out a prime evil moan of agony.

"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

She stopped, and stared at me with her head cocked. She cautiously stepped towards me. After about a minute of her staring at me, she got down on her hands and knees, and crawled up to me.

"Shreeee?"

"How did you get up here?" I asked.

"Shreeee?"

I got up, and pulled her to her feet. "Come with me. I can get you some help." I began to walk away, but she stepped back.

"I… I don't want to go…." She staggered.

"What? Please, I can get you help. Come with me." I extended my hands.

"I… I'm scared… I don't wanna go." She stepped back.

"Please, I can get you food, water, shelter. I can get you help, just take my hand, and we can go. I promise no one will hurt you."

"Pr… promise?"

"Yes. _Promise._"

She cautiously extended her arm, and I gently took her hand.

**Whoa, BS is in da house! Who would've guessed it? I would've. Can anyone find the reference to Five Fingered DeathPunch? Hint, it's from the record War Is The Answer. peace out.**


	4. Chapter 4

She cautiously extended her arm, and I gently took her arm. She stepped forward, and wrapped her arm around mine. She was a bit anxious, so I didn't really mind it. While we walked, I wondered what the condition up on the streets was. I thought they were probably covered with reporters and worried civvies. Police, fire fighters, maybe a few military personnel.

We walked for around five minutes before I heard movement behind us. I pushed the Sister behind me, and aimed carefully.

"Who's there? I'm warning you, I'll blow your damn head off." I warned in a firm voice.

"Gamma, it's us. Put the gun down man." Paul said as he stepped out of the shadows.

"You get a girlfriend while we were gone, eh buddy?" Wreav said sarcastically.

"Yeah, that's it alright. Hell no, I was busy spilling the blood of a hundred Splicers. I found her after I woke up."

"What happened to your helmet?"

"The porthole shattered, it's useless now."

"Hmmm, that sucks. Well come on, civvies are all cleared out. No signs of life down here, we gotta head back topside." Paul said.

"Roger that red leader." Wreav joked.

The condition up on the streets was way worse than I thought. Riots broke out. And I mean lynch mob style riots, not a bunch of high school students protesting. There was a few different Riot Control groups out there. And a few people were actually mauled and killed by the angry civvies.

"HEY! There they are! You people brought them here!" a man yelled.

"Hang them!" the crowd burst out.

The riot control agents had their work cut out for them. They could barely hold the berserk crowds back. Of course, a few people actually got through. A lot, actually. They charged us, but I had a few tricks up my sleeve.

"Paul, Wreav, gasmasks on, now." I said, pulling another canister of tear gas from my chest.

"Alright, toss it." Wreav said in a muffled voice.

I pulled the pin, and rolled the can on the ground. It began to spew the noxious gas, and the charging crowds were brought to their knees. Paul and Wreav ran through the gas, but the Sister beside was hesitant at first.

"Come on, we don't have long before they get back up. We have to go now!" I said.

"But… why? Why are they… so angry?" she asked.

"I don't know, we can find out later. Come on!"

"But… what did we… what did we do?"

"I have no clue. We don't have time for this!" I locked my shotgun onto the strap, and picked up the Sister.

She seemed a bit embarrassed when I did that, but I didn't have time to do anything else. The gas was clearing, and the mob was getting back up. I ran past the gas, and after Paul and Wreav. We ran into the only safe place there was. A transport tank.

"What took you two so long?" Paul asked.

"Never mind that. Anyone in the cockpit of this thing?" I asked.

"Hey! No civvies allowed in here!" a voice blasted from an intercom.

"We have some of the highest ranking military access there is. Ever heard of Foxtrot Charlie?"

"Yeah… how'd you know about that?"

"I'm Sergeant Gamma, and we are commandeering this vehicle. Get us outta here."

"Sir yes sir."

The tank started, and it slowly began to move. We sat in the heavy machine for at least half an hour. It finally stopped, and the door opened. All I could see was at least ten M16s aimed at us. I stood up calmly, and looked. US army, they were heavily armed, quite a few too. At least twenty.

"Hey, watch where you point those things! I've killed worse than you, so back the hell off!" I commanded as I pulled my shotgun off the strap.

I kept it close to my chest, with my finger close to the trigger.

"Ah, please forgive the rude greeting. Can't be that sure when one of our tanks goes missing." A scrawny man in a trench coat and a beret said.

"And you are?" I asked.

"Please forgive my rudeness. I am Colonel Peterson. Pleased to meet you Sergeant." He extended his hand, which was encased in a small leather glove.

I shook his hand, and examined the area.

"So, now that you are here we have a few things to discuss."

"Like what?" Paul asked.

"First, we need a physical examination of that girl. Private, get the doctors in here."

"No. No one lays a hand on her." I said.

"Why is that?"

"I made a promise, and I never break a promise. Now, you can continue that order if you wish, but I'll kill the first man to touch her."

"So be it. But I must ask, would it be possible for us to at least see her?"

"Well, ask her. If she says no, lay off."

All attention turned to her, the unnamed Big Sister hiding behind me. I stepped aside, and she was practically shocked by that.

"Well? Is it alright if we do a small examination?" the Colonel asked.

She didn't respond for a moment. Then she nodded.

"Ok. Men, take her to the examination room. Be gentle with her, or I'll have you serving slop for the next year."

Two men armed with M16s stepped forward. They reached for her arms, and she flinched. One of them motioned for her to follow, and they began to walk towards a large building. She tugged on my arm, telling me all I had to know. She was most likely ignored, or maybe abused as a child. And of course, that meant she was scared of everything and everyone. Except for me, from what I knew. She must've taken me as some kind of source of hope, or protection.

We followed the two men, and they led us deep into the concrete, windowless building. She still clung to my arm, and even shook a little. As we walked past a few different rooms, she seemed to begin to cry. But then again, it was the armory. Some of the weapons in there look pretty intimidating; most weren't even shown to the public for that reason.

After a few minutes of walking, we found ourselves in a white tiled examination room. A doctor made her strip down and put on one of those robe things. The ones that cover your front, but let your ass dangle. I turned around while she changed, and once she did, she sat down on an examination table.

"Ok, what do we… excuse me, this is a private examination." The doctor said as he walked back in.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you doc? No, I'm staying here."

"Fine, please remain quiet while I do the examination."

He had a few things he needed to do. First off, he had to check her height and weight. She was 5'4, and around 100 lbs. For comparison if you really care that much, I'm about 6'2, and maybe 160 or around there. But of course, there were a few things she wanted to skip, and a few things I wouldn't let happen.

The doctor walked in with a large needle, filled with a strange yellowish liquid, and a butterfly needle, and three empty vials. The Big Sister nearly flew off the table, and almost tackled me to the floor.

"Yeah, doc, let's skip the injections and blood tests. Ok?"

"Why? It's for her safety."

"She has all the safety she needs in her blood stream. She's immune to any and all diseases here."

"Alright then… I guess there's only one more part of the test to go. I'll be right back."

The doctor walked out of the room. The Big Sister had calmed down enough, and sat back down on the table. She sat there, shivering. I wasn't sure if she was scared, or just cold. Maybe both. The doctor walked back in, with two latex gloves. He put them both on, and snapped the last one as he did. That was what alarmed me.

"What's with the gloves?" I asked.

"You'll see soon enough." The doctor said as he stepped in front of the Sister.

He kneeled down, and attempted to lift up the bottom of the Sister's robe. I grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him away.

"Whoa, no touching until the second date doc." I said, stepping in front of him.

"Please, I'm a professional. Let me finish the examination."

"She's like what, sixteen or seventeen? What do you need to do that for?"

"It's mandatory. Move out of my way please."

"Hell to the no! I ain't letting you do that, now get outta here."

"Fine… the Colonel will hear about this!" the doctor cried as he exited the room.

"Go on; tell him you tried to molest this girl! Damn doctors… you alright?" I asked the Sister.

She slowly nodded. She hopped off the table, and grabbed the heap of armor on the floor. I turned around, and heard the clang of metal. After a minute, she was changed again.

"Uh… Sergeant Gamma?" a soldier asked.

"Yes?"

"I've been instructed to take you two to your temporary housing. Please follow me." the soldier said, and began to walk away.

We followed him to a nice looking building. We walked up a few flights of stairs, and he stopped at a room with a sign that said "62". It was probably the room number, considering the room ahead of it said "61." He handed me a key, and walked away.

I unlocked the door, and let the Big Sister go ahead of me. I closed the door, and stuffed the key in my pocket. I finally realized I hadn't ever figured out the Sister's name.

"So, can you tell me what your name is?" I asked.

She stared at me in confusion, and unlocked her helmet. She set it on a table, and stepped towards me. She still didn't answer me.

"Do you know what your name is? Can you tell me?"

She cocked her head in confusion, and stepped even closer.

"I'll take that as a no. So; I guess we should give you one…"

She stepped even closer to me, and seemed to trip. I had no time to react, and she just wrapped both her arms around my neck. I helped her up, and stared at her. She had dark brown hair, and oddly deep green eyes.

"How does… Emma sound?"

She didn't say anything; she just brought her head down on my shoulder.

"I'll take that as a yes. Alright, time to go to sleep." I said as she tightened her grip around my neck.

She released me, and stepped back. She tilted her head, again telling me she was still a bit confused. I picked her up, and walked into the bedroom. I set her down on the bed, and stepped back. Instead of lying down and trying to sleep as I had hoped, she stood up.

"No, you have to go to sleep." I said, pointing at the bed.

"No… I'm not… not tired." She said as she stepped forward.

"Alright, I'm not gonna fight you over this."

I walked out of the room, and she followed. I sat down on the couch in the middle of the room, and she still mimicked me.

We sat for maybe five minutes in silence. I finally picked up the remote to the medium sized TV, and turned it on. I needed to see what was on the news. What it was all about surprised me.


	5. Chapter 5

"A riot was thrown today, at this exact spot. The cause, is thought to be a covert government movement that involves 'unique' individuals. More at eleven." A reporter on the TV announced.

I sat forward, paying close attention to the picture behind him. A plume of smoke and dust, along with a few bloodied and beaten police officers. Those rioters sure as hell knew how to riot, I'll say that.

"Hot damn, we made the news." I said with a smile, leaning back.

Paul and Wreav both barged into the room at that cheery note, each with a smile plastered on their faces.

"Hey, we made the news!" Paul yelled with joy.

"Yeah, we saw." I replied, pointing to the TV.

"Stupid TV, I wanted to say it."

"Is there any other reason you just barged into our room?"

"Oh yeah, Colonel Peterson said he needs to see us all. And he made it clear, that she be there too."

"Ok. From now on, call her Emma, ok?"

"Uh… sure…"

I pressed a big red button on the remote, and the TV flicked off. I stood up with a groan, and yawned. Emma reluctantly stood up after me. She sluggishly walked to the table, and picked her helmet up. It hissed as she sealed it, and she let out an overly exaggerated sigh. I knew she was trying to get some attention, but I wasn't sure of why. I mean, did she just want someone to look at her? Maybe she had something to say, or maybe she needed something. I'll never really know.

"Everything alright Emma?" I asked as she joined the group at the door.

She seemed to perk up almost instantly. She just nodded.

Wreav and Paul stepped out first, and Emma followed them. I closed and locked up our room, and stuffed the key back in my pocket. Paul and Wreav had continued their way to meet Peterson in the Command room, but Emma waited patiently at the end of the stairs. She was getting a bit too attached to me, in my opinion at the time.

We walked for about five minutes before we got to the command room. Paul, Wreav, Peterson, and a crap load of soldiers were all waiting for us.

"Ah, good to see you have found your way. Now, there are important matters that must be discussed about the Splicers…" Peterson began.

"There have been sightings on the south side, and we fear they may have set up a base in an abandoned warehouse. We're going to arm you and my task force, and you will be sent to neutralize any and all hostiles. My men will take you to our armory, please try to keep our experimental weaponry out of harm's way. Dismissed." He said, looking out the window.

As I stepped towards the door, I heard light, fast footsteps behind me. As soon as I turned around, I was tackled to the floor.

"No! Daddy, don't go!" Emma cried, barely giving me enough room to breathe.

"Wow, I forgot how much that hurts… glad to see the next generation still has the same pouncing ability…" I mumbled.

"Well, well, that's why she trusts you so much sergeant… she takes you as a father figure." Peterson said with a grin.

"Oh, let's see… if I'm remembering right, that's three daughters now…" I muttered under my breath.

Emma looked up at me, and I could practically feel her eyes locked on me.

"I won't let you go." She said, sounding as if she was about to go hysterical.

"Emma, come on. We need to talk…" everyone stared at us. "In private."

Emma slowly stood up, and I followed. I pushed the door open, and Emma walked through. I followed, and closed the door.

"Ok Emma, from the sound of it, you have something you need to talk about. I'm all ears."

She didn't say a thing, just looked down to the floor. I brought my hand to her helmet, and hit the release latch. I pulled her helmet off, and dropped it onto the floor. She had a surprised look on her face when I began to do the same thing with my gas mask. I dropped the mask, and it flopped onto the floor. Emma didn't move, but she seemed to flinch a little. From her reaction, I got all I needed to know. The Vita-chamber I was revived in probably set my DNA back to the way it was earlier. A.K.A. I got real ugly real fast. I looked to a window, and saw my reflection. Sickly green skin, fangs instead of teeth, and a few scars. I wasn't that ugly, just a bit screwed up. I looked back to Emma.

"Emma, if you have something on your mind, say it. I mean look at me, do you really think that I, of all people, would even have the right to judge you? I'm a corpse for Christ's sake!" I said, staring directly at Emma.

Her eyes began to fill with tears. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and began to cry.

"I don't want you to leave! I can't lose my Daddy again!" she cried, her hot tears running down onto my neck.

I sighed, and brought one hand to the back of her head, and wrapped the other around her. I gently rubbed the back of her head, as she tightened her grip around my neck.

"Emma, I made a promise, didn't I? I can take a few Splicers, even more so considering the advanced weaponry they plan on giving me. Are you really that worried, or is there something else behind this?"

"I… I remember… when I was *snivel* when I was five, I saw you die… but now you're here, and I don't want you to go away again, *snivel* because I'm scared you're not gonna come back again. *snivel*"

"Emma, I plan on coming back from this trip. But… if this'll make you feel better about it, take this walkie-talkie. If you ever get worried about me, just press that green button and you can talk to me. Does that make you feel better?" I asked, pulling a walkie-talkie from a crate conveniently located right next to us.

She took it, and smiled slightly. "I *snivel* I guess so… I'm gonna miss you Daddy." She replied, giving me one last hug.

"Alright, come on."

I grabbed another walkie-talkie and stuffed it in my pocket. What can I say, I have big pockets. Emma and I stepped back into the room, after we both put our "headwear" on.

"Is everything settled now?" Peterson asked.

"Yes. Emma, take the room key." I handed her the key. "Hey, can someone escort her back to our room?"

"I got it. Please come with me." a soldier stepped forwards, and led Emma out of the room.

"Now, to the gun room, eh?"


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm a Lover not a Hater, congrats, you get a M60 with an ACOG scope. Big gun, with a scope. Gear up and move out. = )**

"Ok, listen up. You're all going to be given the normal fragmentation grenade, and a little something you've probably never heard of. An Incendiary grenade. Now, this thing is filled with white hot phosphorous and Thermite. Thermite, this shit burns hotter than the devil's butthole. You got five seconds to throw this thing after you pull the pin, otherwise it will engulf you and everyone in a ten foot diameter around you with white hot gas. Killing you excruciatingly painfully, but quick too. Gear up, and get out there!" an explosives specialist explained to us.

"Ouch… man I wanna use that now." Wreav said with a chuckle.

"Yeah… shut up and grab your gun. We got crap to kill." Paul replied sarcastically.

I grabbed a Stoner63 LMG, a Model 39-2 pistol, and an Ithaca 37 pump action shotgun (AKA Stakeout) and loaded them all. I brought along plenty of ammo too… Mmm, ammo.

Out of nowhere I hear a static, and feel something in my pocket shake. I dug around in my right pocket for a second, and pull out the walkie-talkie I grabbed earlier.

"Hello? Hello, can anyone hear me?" I heard Emma ask.

I hit the green button, and spoke back. "Emma, do you need something?" I asked, a bit worried.

"Oh, hi daddy! I was just checking to see if this thingy worked… it does!"

I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought she was in trouble or something. "Ok. Emma, listen closely. I love talking to you, but I need to go on a mission, ok?"

"Ok… bye daddy!"

I stuffed the device back into my pocket and sighed. It was gonna be a long day.

I packed up my weapons, and grabbed a few extra grenades. After that, they loaded Paul, Wreav, half of Peterson's strike team, and I onto a boat. They explained very little… just that the enemies were to be considered hostile and should be taken down quick and by the book. But, I say to hell with the book. I was gonna kill those bastards the way I was bred to. By raping their pain glands. And the advanced weaponry is just icing on the cake.

A kid in Peterson's strike team kinda worried me a bit though… said his name was Sheppard. Pretty alright kid, I'd say around twenty or so years old. Kinda clumsy though. He dropped his M60, which scared the living hell outta me. Thought it was gonna go off and blow someone's head clean off.

When we reached the place, we loaded off the boat and they drove off in a hurry. Then, some guy from the strike team took crap over.

"Alright, Paul, Wreav, go check out the second floor. Irwin, Matt, take the east side of the building. Leeroy, you're with me. Gamma, take the rookie and sweep the basement. Move out people."

"Alright Sheppard, try not to get shot. I'd hate to have to haul your bleeding ass outta here over my shoulder." I said as we descended.

"Yes sir." He replied like clockwork.

We walked around the seemingly empty basement for fifteen minutes before anything worth mentioning happened.

Something shuffled around behind us, so I quickly turned around. Nothing was there. I turned back around, to hear the same noise, but louder. I repeat the process, and finally gave in.

"I hate this place! I'm getting paranoid in the dark. Sheppard, help me find some circuit breakers or something."

We parted ways for a few minutes to find a light switch. I found a control panel, and a bunch of papers covered it. I shoved them off the panel, and looked around. Nothing… then, the lights flicker on. I see the rookie with a grin on his face.

"Found the lights." He said with confidence.

"Nice work rookie. Come on, let's go kill something."

I soon got the action I craved so much. A bunch of Splicers pop up from behind some overturned desks. I open fire on them with the Stoner63. Kill two of them, but the rest scattered. I yelled for the rookie to get cover, which he did. We soon found ourselves the first to engage in the building.

I sprayed a wave of lead, and killed one last Splicer before they started to bull rush. I pulled an incendiary grenade from a pouch on my armor, and pulled the pin. I tossed the small, un-threatening cylinder from behind a filing cabinet. Seconds later, I heard the most sickening bang. Then, I hear the moans of agony form the Splicers who were caught in the cloud of white hot phosphorus and the chemical I've never heard of, Thermite. After the screams died, just like the Splicers, I leaned out of cover. The entire area was singed and covered in ash. The bodies, or should I say the big pile of molten flesh, was smoking. Literally, a small stream of smoke… or steam, either one, was rising of the pile.

"Wow… that… was… AWESOME!" I cried, stepping around the pile of bodies.

"Whoa… I never imagined that much damage from on grenade…" Sheppard mumbled.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! You gotta try that."

"Uh… sir, I think we have a problem…"

"What is it?" I turned around.

"Oh… well… this puts me in an awkward position…"


	7. Chapter 7

A big guy… like a really, really big guy was staring down at us. I had seen some ugly Splicers, but this guy must've been the ugliest. His entire face was covered in tumors. And they were oozing with puss… I gagged under my mask. A tumor actually covered half of his mouth too. I've seen some nasty stuff, but that was the nastiest.

"Ok… I'm gonna have to kill you now." I said calmly, breaking the silence.

He jumped back and punched the ground. The cement floor shattered, and pieces jutted out from the floor. He dug his fingers in between two pieces, and pulled a nice sized chunk of cement from the floor. He raised it above his head, and hurled it at us. I shoved Sheppard out of the way of the incoming debris, and barely made it myself. I stood up, and raised my LMG to eye-level. I didn't have too much time to react, so I just sprayed and prayed. Lead was flying everywhere. I must've hit him a few times, because I heard him yell. Or maybe he just liked to yell… I don't really know or care.

Sheppard just watched the whole thing go down. Didn't fire off a single shot. After around a minute and a half, my Stoner just clicked. I sighed, and pulled the empty clip out. I grabbed a clip from the vest I was wearing, and jammed it into the empty space, and pulled a small switch near the barrel. I carefully scanned the area, trying to locate my opponent. I found a trail of blood that lead to a closed door. I quietly stepped towards the door, and slid it a quarter of the way open. I pulled the pin on an incendiary grenade, and tossed it into the room. I slammed the door shut, and turned away.

"Ahhhh! It burns, it burns! Get it off!" was all that was heard from the room.

After a few minutes, the noise from the room stopped. Sheppard popped up outta freaking nowhere, and I almost shot him.

"Is it over?" Sheppard asked.

"Yeah, and thanks for helping me kill that thing." I replied sarcastically.

"Well, I thought I'd let the professional deal with it."

"Yeah… whatever you say rookie. Let's go check out the kill."

I cracked the door a little, and peeked in. I saw the large, charred body of the Splicer lying on the floor. I slid the door open, and stepped in. The walls were burnt and blackened. What little furniture that was in the room was basically incinerated. I stepped next to the charred body of the Splicer, and to my surprise, he groaned.

"Oh come on. Why don't Splicers ever die?" I groaned.

I pulled my combat knife from my waist, and kneeled next to the half dead man. I placed the blade just under his chin, and thrusted it into his throat. I pulled the blade towards me, and sawed his neck open. I pulled the knife out of his neck, and wiped the putrid blood off on the dead man's shirt. I stood up, and jammed the knife back into its sheath.

"I think you over did it a bit." Sheppard said, raising an eyebrow.

"Trust me, I haven't over done a kill since I impaled a Splicer's head on a pike. That was over doing it. This is just ensuring the kill. Let's keep looking around."

Sheppard followed me out of the room and down the dimly lit hallway. We walked for maybe thirty seconds, before I stopped. I felt… something… I'm not sure what it was, but it drew me to a certain room. I opened the door, and stepped inside. The room was lined with shelves. All of them empty… well, not all of them. There were a few audio diaries on one of the shelves. I wasn't sure what audio diaries were doing up here, but I grabbed one anyway. It had a picture of Eleanor on it. I hit the switch.

"I miss Gamma… and the worst part, Father has been acting like he never existed. I wonder if it's because the 'little mishap' on the island… Samantha has been ignoring me for some time as well. I'm starting to believe that she found out. I plan on asking her later. I hope we can work this out…" Eleanor's voice played from the diary.

"Who's that?" Sheppard asked.

I looked back at him, and shook my head. "It's a personal matter. I don't like to talk about it."

I set the diary down, and grabbed another off the shelf. This specific one had a picture of Samantha on it. I flipped the switch.

"I… I just found out something I wish I never found out. Eleanor… my best friend… she… she… she slept with my Father… how could she? I mean, why? What would compel her to do such a thing? From what I know, my father is at least thirty, if not older!" Samantha sounded like she was about to cry on the diary.

The next one was Alexis'. It was a bit different than the others.

"I miss daddy… but uncle Delta says we'll be fine. Eleanor and Samantha have been acting weird though… they try not to show it, but they still do. I think there's something going on between them, but Delta says not to get involved." Alexis sounded more upbeat and cheery than everyone else.

The last one was by Delta. I wasn't really expecting that.

"I told the girls to stop making these damned diaries, but here I am making one myself. *Sigh* I know all the girls miss Gamma, I do too, he was like a brother to me. But still… I guess that would make Eleanor my daughter_ and_ sister? Heheh… I'm a horrible person. If I'm right, Samantha has found out. That will make things a bit uh… interesting, between Eleanor and her. These next few weeks should be either, quite entertaining, or excruciatingly painful."

"I'll take it that was this Delta I've heard so much about?" Sheppard asked.

"Yeah, that was him. Why are you so interested in this?"

"Well, I'm really just interested in finding out who they are, and what their story is. And from what I've heard so far, you and this Eleanor girl had some uh… good times, together."

"Drop it rookie. I'll tell you more about it when I feel like telling you more about it, you hear me?"

"Yes sir. Can we get out of here now? This place creeps me out."

"Alright, get moving upstairs."


	8. Chapter 8

All I heard was a loud explosion, and then the ground shook. I could tell the Rookie felt it too, cause he toppled over like a tree.

"Sir, did you feel that?" Sheppard asked.

"Yeah, haul your ass upstairs. Move out!" I yelled in reply.

I helped the Rookie up, and ran up the stairs. The ground shook even more as we made it to the ground floor. Sheppard fell over, and couldn't get his footing. So I grabbed his arm, and pulled him to his feet. I pulled him to the front door, and shoved him out. I followed, both of us in a full-fledged sprint. The warehouse exploded, knocking both of us to the ground. We both landed right at the dock as chunks of metal and wood fell from the sky. Sheppard tripped over his feet as we ran to the boat. I grabbed him by his collar, and basically tossed him into the boat. Another explosion knocked me into the water, and due to all the heavy gear I was carrying, I sank. I blacked out after a minute.

I woke up lying on what felt like sand. My gas mask was off, and my entire body was numb. My head was soaked and cold, only being warmed by the sun. All my gear, my weapons, everything but the armor off my back and my mask was gone. And of course, there was the diving knife on my belt.

I spat up some water, and regained minor vision. Everything was still just a blur though.

"I can't thank you enough for saving him. Without him, this investigation would be back to the beginning." I heard a familiar voice say.

"What makes you think I did it for you? You don't know him like I knew him." I recognized the voice.

I managed to sit up, my body literally shaking. The sun was beating down on me, blinding me. I pushed myself to my feet, even though I wobbled with each step. I took not even three steps before I fell flat on my face. I pushed myself up once more, but halfway through, I felt someone grab both my arms. I was pulled to my feet. To my left, was Paul, to my right, was… Carrie? I was amazed; I hadn't seen her in years. Mostly because I was dead, but still.

"Oh my god… Carrie, is that you?" I asked.

"Glad to see you remember me. how are the kids?" Carrie replied with a smile on her face.

"How should I know? Haven't seen em… since I died."

The expression on her face turned from happy to worried quickly. "You died? When? Were you hurt?"

"Yes. Yes I was. It stung like hell. Bare muscle exposed to air isn't very pleasurable."

"Oh, my poor baby… well, now I can make you all better."

"Uh… we need to get going. Colonel Peters said he needed to see you Carrie. And I guess you're coming along too Gamma." Paul interrupted.

To my dismay, there was a small motorboat already docked for us. We all boarded, and quickly headed off to base.

**Sorry about the short chapter. What can I say, Writer's block.**


End file.
